In a world in which upstart DIY talent is flooding the gates of electronic music, a few recent voices have been so strong as to be startling. Lapalux - aka 25-year-old Stuart Howard - is certainly one such. As singular as a brilliant artist always should be, his instinctive understanding of the atmospheric power of texture grips the ear immediately on listening. Nostalchic is his debut album, mission statement, and the climax of many years of studying his craft.

The amalgam of words that make the title is aptly, and perhaps knowingly chosen. The album evokes nostalgia without ever sounding nostalgic, and Howard may have had his tongue in his chic when he added the second half of the title. The album is his most focused document to date, adding his beloved R&B and soul into elements of house and hip hop, all with the trademark Lapalux finish; infectious, lopsided swing and achingly deep texture.

“Like the R&B of another time and place, transmitted from an unknown
planet in a distant galaxy into the mind of a wildly creative sound
designer.” – XLR8R

“Fans of the Kimbies, James Blake’s ‘CMYK’, Four Tet, Bibio, FlyLo,
Matthewdavid, Onra, Debruit and all those guys – meet your new favourite
producer.“ – Boomkat

“Lapalux is probably one of the finest producers out there at the moment” – Oli Marlow, Sonic Router

In a world in which upstart DIY talent is flooding the gates of electronic music, a few recent voices have been so strong as to be startling. Lapalux - aka 25-year-old Stuart Howard - is certainly one such. As singular as a brilliant artist always should be, his instinctive understanding of the atmospheric power of texture grips the ear immediately on listening. Nostalchic is his debut album, mission statement, and the climax of many years of studying his craft.

The amalgam of words that make the title is aptly, and perhaps knowingly chosen. The album evokes nostalgia without ever sounding nostalgic, and Howard may have had his tongue in his chic when he added the second half of the title. The album is his most focused document to date, adding his beloved R&B and soul into elements of house and hip hop, all with the trademark Lapalux finish; infectious, lopsided swing and achingly deep texture.

“Like the R&B of another time and place, transmitted from an unknown
planet in a distant galaxy into the mind of a wildly creative sound
designer.” – XLR8R

“Fans of the Kimbies, James Blake’s ‘CMYK’, Four Tet, Bibio, FlyLo,
Matthewdavid, Onra, Debruit and all those guys – meet your new favourite
producer.“ – Boomkat

“Lapalux is probably one of the finest producers out there at the moment” – Oli Marlow, Sonic Router

The Heavy
are the music industry’s worst kept secret. They make blazing, urgent,
infectious rock-soul with a strong dose of hip-hop. You’ve heard their songs in
a lot of different places, and it’s likely that you loved them.

Forming
in the fertile swamps of England’s West Country in the mid-naughties, around
the axis of Dan Taylor (guitarist and songwriter) and Kelvin Swaby (vocalist
and songwriter,) the Heavy immediately astounded. Jaw dropping, freshly minted
riffs, swinging hip-hop drums, funk-ridden bass and Swaby’s startling,
Mayfield-esque vocals meant early singles ‘That Kind of Man’ and ‘Colleen’ blew
minds and won hearts. The debut album they were taken from – ‘Great Vengeance
and Furious Fire’ – became an instant connoisseurs’ classic.

It was
their sophomore album, though, that saw them blasting into homes across the
globe. ‘The House that Dirt Built’ was everything a second album should be: a
deeper, richer progression from the band’s early work. It also yielded the
mighty ‘How You Like Me Now?’ The single was licensed for a major commercial in
the 3rd Quarter of the Superbowl (the biggest ad slot in the world)
and quite simply went stratospheric.

A heady
mix of impassioned, incandescent vocal, gargantuan riff and boom-bap drums, it
also happened to conjure up a triumph-in-adversity sentiment that struck a
chord across the globe. The song went on to become the first for which David
Letterman ever requested an encore, when The Heavy played the “Late Show,” and
appeared everywhere from “Entourage,” Academy Award-nominated film The Fighter,
and Mark Wahlberg’s hit comedy ‘Ted.’

“It
became such a big tune, that people asked, ‘How are you going to top that?’.”
Swaby says.

The
answer was 2012’s ‘The Glorious Dead,’ the band’s third album. Searching for
inspiration, The Heavy – which in addition to Taylor and Swaby includes Spencer
Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) – travelled from their Bath, England
hometown to Columbus, Georgia. There, they hooked up with local gospel singers
and musicians for some Southern Gothic sublimity.

The final
magic ingredient in the mix was Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth of Sharon Jones &
the Dap-Kings, who added string and horn parts to four songs.

Even
deeper, a touch darker, and with shades of Southern Gothic infesting the swampy
rock n’ soul of previous records, the album was another giant step forward,
Frankensteining swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage rock and
Gospel-soaked soul.

Lead
single ‘What Makes a Good Man?’ showed that The Heavy were able to write
brilliant singles time after time, with synchs snowing in once again, and
American radio coming on board. The band toured the world exhaustively, wowing
audiences with their transcendental live performances.

“It was
over the top, in a good way,” adds Heavy frontman Kelvin Swaby. “We went pretty
cinematic, setting out to score a film that hasn’t been written.”

“It’s
good to have a bit of light and shade,” Taylor adds.

Since then,
The Heavy has gone on to achieve storming success in Japan, playing Fuji Rock,
chalking up a #1 alternative album on iTunes Japan, scoring a major Pepsi synch
and playing Japan’s biggest breakfast TV show, ‘Sukkiri.’

Their
music was used in the stunning Guiness Sapeurs ad, they played Glastonbury,
sold out Shepherd’s Bush Empire and re-recorded How You Like Me Now? with none
other than 50 Cent, to launch ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft Week.

To top it
all, How You Like Me Now? reached Gold status in the United States – a stunning
achievement for an English, independent artist. How to top all that, you might
ask? Well, there’s a new album on the way, and The Heavy just happen to have a
habit of exceeding themselves…

The Heavy
are the music industry’s worst kept secret. They make blazing, urgent,
infectious rock-soul with a strong dose of hip-hop. You’ve heard their songs in
a lot of different places, and it’s likely that you loved them.

Forming
in the fertile swamps of England’s West Country in the mid-naughties, around
the axis of Dan Taylor (guitarist and songwriter) and Kelvin Swaby (vocalist
and songwriter,) the Heavy immediately astounded. Jaw dropping, freshly minted
riffs, swinging hip-hop drums, funk-ridden bass and Swaby’s startling,
Mayfield-esque vocals meant early singles ‘That Kind of Man’ and ‘Colleen’ blew
minds and won hearts. The debut album they were taken from – ‘Great Vengeance
and Furious Fire’ – became an instant connoisseurs’ classic.

It was
their sophomore album, though, that saw them blasting into homes across the
globe. ‘The House that Dirt Built’ was everything a second album should be: a
deeper, richer progression from the band’s early work. It also yielded the
mighty ‘How You Like Me Now?’ The single was licensed for a major commercial in
the 3rd Quarter of the Superbowl (the biggest ad slot in the world)
and quite simply went stratospheric.

A heady
mix of impassioned, incandescent vocal, gargantuan riff and boom-bap drums, it
also happened to conjure up a triumph-in-adversity sentiment that struck a
chord across the globe. The song went on to become the first for which David
Letterman ever requested an encore, when The Heavy played the “Late Show,” and
appeared everywhere from “Entourage,” Academy Award-nominated film The Fighter,
and Mark Wahlberg’s hit comedy ‘Ted.’

“It
became such a big tune, that people asked, ‘How are you going to top that?’.”
Swaby says.

The
answer was 2012’s ‘The Glorious Dead,’ the band’s third album. Searching for
inspiration, The Heavy – which in addition to Taylor and Swaby includes Spencer
Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) – travelled from their Bath, England
hometown to Columbus, Georgia. There, they hooked up with local gospel singers
and musicians for some Southern Gothic sublimity.

The final
magic ingredient in the mix was Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth of Sharon Jones &
the Dap-Kings, who added string and horn parts to four songs.

Even
deeper, a touch darker, and with shades of Southern Gothic infesting the swampy
rock n’ soul of previous records, the album was another giant step forward,
Frankensteining swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage rock and
Gospel-soaked soul.

Lead
single ‘What Makes a Good Man?’ showed that The Heavy were able to write
brilliant singles time after time, with synchs snowing in once again, and
American radio coming on board. The band toured the world exhaustively, wowing
audiences with their transcendental live performances.

“It was
over the top, in a good way,” adds Heavy frontman Kelvin Swaby. “We went pretty
cinematic, setting out to score a film that hasn’t been written.”

“It’s
good to have a bit of light and shade,” Taylor adds.

Since then,
The Heavy has gone on to achieve storming success in Japan, playing Fuji Rock,
chalking up a #1 alternative album on iTunes Japan, scoring a major Pepsi synch
and playing Japan’s biggest breakfast TV show, ‘Sukkiri.’

Their
music was used in the stunning Guiness Sapeurs ad, they played Glastonbury,
sold out Shepherd’s Bush Empire and re-recorded How You Like Me Now? with none
other than 50 Cent, to launch ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft Week.

To top it
all, How You Like Me Now? reached Gold status in the United States – a stunning
achievement for an English, independent artist. How to top all that, you might
ask? Well, there’s a new album on the way, and The Heavy just happen to have a
habit of exceeding themselves…

[counter_player] =>
[counter_biog] => “What the hell were we thinking?,” exclaims Dan Taylor, guitarist for U.K. indie soul-rock titans The Heavy, of the band’s audacious album, The Glorious Dead. “We wanted to make a bold statement – it’s not shy, but a beast unto itself." "It’s over the top, but in a good way," adds charismatic Heavy frontman Kelvin Swaby. "With this record, we went pretty cinematic: we basically set out to score a film that hasn’t been written."
Indeed, The Glorious Dead proves singular: Frankensteining everything from swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage-rock guitars and Gospel-soaked soul, it becomes a whole other creature feature unlike anything else you’ll hear this year. The Glorious Dead isn’t just The Heavy’s third full-length: it’s also the group’s most ambitious effort, traveling sonically from the group’s South England home to America’s deep South, and beyond. It’s also building off momentum from The Heavy’s greatest success, the international smash single “How You Like Me Now?,” off the band’s acclaimed previous album, 2009’s The House That Dirt Built. An infectious anthem of hard-rocking maximum R&B, “How You Like Me Now?” exploded upon release: it became the first song David Letterman’s ever requested an encore for when The Heavy played it on his “Late Show,” and has appeared everywhere from “Entourage” episodes, Academy Award-nominated film The Fighter, and the trailer for the new Mark Wahlberg comedy Ted. “How You Like Me Now?” continues to enthrall: on the recent climax of the 2012 season of NBC’s hit show “The Voice,” Adam Levine’s team contestant Tony Lucca performed the song to massive acclaim. “That was surreal,” says Taylor. “It’s taken on legs of its own. I can’t complain, but I wouldn’t want to be known for one song – it’s not our peak.” “It’s such a big tune, people ask, ‘How are you going to top that?’,” Swaby adds. “But we’re not going to lie down and play dead.”
As such, The Glorious Dead rockets out of the grave with supernatural force. Alternately haunting and relentless, album opener “Can’t Play Dead” thunders as if Jack White remixed “Ghost Town” by The Specials. It’s followed by “Curse Me Good,” which provides a jarring contrast with its sweet whistled hook, George Harrison-meets-T.Rex acoustic strum, and a heartbreaking soul vocal from Swaby. “It’s good to have a bit of light and shade amid the onslaught of heavy guitars,” Taylor explains. “I find we’re always trying to recreate the diversity of, say, The White Album, but with beats.” Likewise, “Big Bad Wolf” combines primal howling à la Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, funkdafied breakbeats, and eerie electronics that recall Luniz’ stoned rap classic “I Got 5 On It.” “Think vintage, but keep it contemporary – that’s our approach,” Swaby explains. “It’s integral to make everything sound like samples from our record collection, but with a modern edge. We’re not afraid to use technology, and everything needs to have that tight, heavyweight bottom end.”
Epitomizing this all-inclusive strategy is The Glorious Dead’s centerpiece breakthrough track, “What Makes A Good Man?” Defiant yet uplifting, “What Makes A Good Man?” contrasts Swaby’s gritty soul searching with girl-group call-and-response vocals and soaring, epic strings. Its creation provided the spark that would prove crucial to the album’s inception. Looking to soak up some Southern Gothic inspiration, The Heavy traveled far from their hometown near Bath, England all the way to Columbus, Georgia on the advice of their U.S. tour-bus driver, Sam Phillips. There, Phillips hooked the group up with a number of church-trained singers and players: they would take Swaby and Taylor’s song ideas to another realm, like singer/keyboardist Lloyd Buchanan’s intense contribution to “…Good Man?” “We had the beat and the chorus for ‘Good Man,’ and when Lloyd started jamming on the B-3 and singing on it, I was like, ‘This is going to be insane,’” Swaby says. “The Gospel singers started doing the chorus they already knew they song – they made it sound like the Supremes or Ronettes. It was an incredible feeling: after that, we were on our merry way.” Taking the material to yet another level was the contribution of Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth, Daptone Records co-founder and bandleader of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, with whom The Heavy had toured extensively. Roth ended up scoring innovative string and horn parts to four of The Glorious Dead’s ten songs. “It doesn’t sound like what Gabriel does with the Dap-Kings,” Taylor says. “He got into the mindset to do something different.” “He’s such a talented entity,” Swaby continues. “I couldn’t believe what was coming out of the speakers. It was so fitting, with this vintage sound, and amazing beauty. It reminded me of these black-and-white films I used to watch as a kid.”
Film loomed as large an influence on The Glorious Dead as music. As key inspirations, Taylor cites the tweaked Americana of Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law and the voodoo vibes of the James Bond classic Live and Let Die alongside ‘60s Mod rave-ups and the atmospheric Brit multiculturalism of Fun Boy Three and The Specials; Swaby, meanwhile, explored low-budget horror flicks alongside the controlled screaming of garage-rockers The Sonics, Tom Waits’ elastic growl, and soul giants Al Green and Otis Redding. Starting in January 2011, Taylor, Swaby, and bandmates Spencer Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) began combining these ingredients into their own idiosyncratic blend – a process launched by The Heavy building their own studio and choosing to produce The Glorious Dead themselves. To mix the results, the band first worked with longtime associate Jim Abbiss (Adele, Arctic Monkeys) at Peter Gabriel’s famed Real World complex, then finished up with Paul Corkett (The Cure, Nick Cave, Björk). “Self-producing was all about being self-sufficient in realizing the vision we had,” Taylor says. “Your third record is judged as to whether you’re there to stay, or slide off the face of the earth. We want to stick around, so we took our balls out and went for it.” “I love what we’ve done,” adds Swaby. “We got our deadpan heartbreak down. This record suggests how we continue to walk among the dead – now just in a few more places, and with more of a swagger.”
The Glorious Dead spawned the mighty lead single 'What Makes a Good Man?' a funk-ridden, soul-wrenching study of a deep spiritual question. What Makes A Good Man? has been featured in trailers for HBO, Lawless, Borderlands 2 and Elementary, and the band gave TV performances on The Late Show with David Letterman, Last Call With Carson Daly and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.
Since the dawn of 'The Glorious Dead,' The Heavy have done anything other than rest on their laurels. 2013 has seen them reprise their smash hit 'How You Like Me Now?' for ESPN's Draft Week. The song was reworked to feature a guest verse from none other than 50 Cent, who happily enveloped himself in The Heavy's swamp-funk, and even performed in a brand new video. Since then, the song has gone on to reach Gold status in the USA, a stunning success from a British band on a label as independent as they are.
The Heavy came back to the US to perform at Spike TV's Guys Choice Awards as the house band in June 2013. Touring in 2013 has so far been a SOLD OUT UK Tour, an EU Tour in May, plus USA and Canadian dates in June and August, with another EU/UK Tour booked for the end of the year. Festival highlights this summer include Ottawa Jazz Festival, Rock-A-Field in Luxembourg, Hove in Norway, T In The Park in Scotland, Glastonbury and WOMAD in England, Osheaga in Montreal, Outside Lands in San Francisco and Afropunk in New York.
To date, this true original of a band have sold 750,000 singles and over 150,000 albums. Long live The Heavy.
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Drawing from a wide range of tropical riddims and urban electro, the power of Montreal-based DJ/producer Poirier's bass blasts through any flimsy attempt to classify his music. Pinpointing the bits and pieces of dancehall beats, soca energy and electronic intensity is futile in the face of Poirier's dance-driven creativity and air-horn worthy excitement. Signed to Ninja Tune, this is a man who just understands what works in the dance.

Poirier is constantly evolving. Landscapes of vibrant drums lead to pulsating, pitch-shifting, and infectious bass and synth patterns. He tears through new genres constantly, leaving a trail of packed, chaotic dancefloors in his wake. From his legendary Bounce Le Gros parties in Montreal (sell out events for two years running) to his new party, the bigger, better, bass-ier Karnival, Poirier has been unstoppable in his ability to mash styles, expand minds, and move asses.

Although based in Montreal, Poirier is also always moving — in just the past few years he has been invited to virtually every continent. Poirier on the bill equals a sure fire jam, so it's no surprise that he's shared the stage with Modeselektor, Diplo, Kode9, Amon Tobin and Toddla T, as well as taken SXSW, Fabric London, Australia's Big Day Out, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and Mexico's Cervantino Festival by storm.

Remixes are part of Poirier's powerful repertoire, and he knows just how to pick apart a song and put it back together bigger and heavier than before. Tracks by Gotan Project, Tommie Sunshine, Pole, Bassnectar and Yoav have all been given the Poirier treatment, garnering him attention from publications such as the Independent, the London Telegraph, Pitchfork, the New Yorker, the Wire and XLR8R.

Giving the massive what it wants, yet providing a musical education in what it needs, Poirier is a producer and DJ who has no boundaries except, perhaps, the rule that it's gotta have bass, and it's got to bounce. With this philosophy, Poirier will keep the dance rammed.

Drawing from a wide range of tropical riddims and urban electro, the power of Montreal-based DJ/producer Poirier's bass blasts through any flimsy attempt to classify his music. Pinpointing the bits and pieces of dancehall beats, soca energy and electronic intensity is futile in the face of Poirier's dance-driven creativity and air-horn worthy excitement. Signed to Ninja Tune, this is a man who just understands what works in the dance.

Poirier is constantly evolving. Landscapes of vibrant drums lead to pulsating, pitch-shifting, and infectious bass and synth patterns. He tears through new genres constantly, leaving a trail of packed, chaotic dancefloors in his wake. From his legendary Bounce Le Gros parties in Montreal (sell out events for two years running) to his new party, the bigger, better, bass-ier Karnival, Poirier has been unstoppable in his ability to mash styles, expand minds, and move asses.

Although based in Montreal, Poirier is also always moving — in just the past few years he has been invited to virtually every continent. Poirier on the bill equals a sure fire jam, so it's no surprise that he's shared the stage with Modeselektor, Diplo, Kode9, Amon Tobin and Toddla T, as well as taken SXSW, Fabric London, Australia's Big Day Out, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and Mexico's Cervantino Festival by storm.

Remixes are part of Poirier's powerful repertoire, and he knows just how to pick apart a song and put it back together bigger and heavier than before. Tracks by Gotan Project, Tommie Sunshine, Pole, Bassnectar and Yoav have all been given the Poirier treatment, garnering him attention from publications such as the Independent, the London Telegraph, Pitchfork, the New Yorker, the Wire and XLR8R.

Giving the massive what it wants, yet providing a musical education in what it needs, Poirier is a producer and DJ who has no boundaries except, perhaps, the rule that it's gotta have bass, and it's got to bounce. With this philosophy, Poirier will keep the dance rammed.

Zulu Guru is the first full-length collaboration from singer/songwriter Jesse Boykins III and producer/emcee MeLo-X. Both Jesse and MeLo-X have critically acclaimed self-released albums and duets.With Zulu Guru, they bring together a solid collection of songs that reflect and define a new direction in Hip Hop and R&B, both lyrically and musically. This new sound is rooted in traditional soul music, adding elements from multiple genres to serve a purely unique and honest look at modern romance. With Zulu Guru, Jesse and MeLo-X absorb influences from around the world into the production including Afro-Beat, West Indian, and Electronic Soul - expanding their brand and message worldwide.

"The history of the ZuLu is one rich with stories of royalty, valor and the warrior spirit. In an age of creative freedom through the use of social networks we have become warriors of free expression. Never bound by the shackles of genre, we travel and shift through musical landscapes breaking down barriers in the process. Our approach to music is similar to that of the spirited tribal warrior; conquering new land as we travel the world winning wars through romance. As we venture into a new level in our careers, we continue to embody the Zulu warrior spirit while elaborating on the romantic qualities in everyday life.

The greatest minds are the ones that connect wholeheartedly with their artistic visions and do all they can to make it reality. The Guru in us all simply craves evolution and tranquility which comes with experience, which is simply the process in which we become more and more true to ourselves: being able to acknowledge our flaws and mistakes and wrongdoings and grow for the better.

In this music there is honesty; pure understanding or putting forth the effort to understand the emotions that make us do what we do. We write to express and highlight things within ourselves and our culture that we feel hold some sort of significance, good or bad. We deeply connect with the many cultures of the world, traveling and over-involving ourselves with awareness. This music we bring to you is a sonic form of connection, a humbling form of passion, and the advancement of art in form of romance."

Zulu Guru is the first full-length collaboration from singer/songwriter Jesse Boykins III and producer/emcee MeLo-X. Both Jesse and MeLo-X have critically acclaimed self-released albums and duets.With Zulu Guru, they bring together a solid collection of songs that reflect and define a new direction in Hip Hop and R&B, both lyrically and musically. This new sound is rooted in traditional soul music, adding elements from multiple genres to serve a purely unique and honest look at modern romance. With Zulu Guru, Jesse and MeLo-X absorb influences from around the world into the production including Afro-Beat, West Indian, and Electronic Soul - expanding their brand and message worldwide.

"The history of the ZuLu is one rich with stories of royalty, valor and the warrior spirit. In an age of creative freedom through the use of social networks we have become warriors of free expression. Never bound by the shackles of genre, we travel and shift through musical landscapes breaking down barriers in the process. Our approach to music is similar to that of the spirited tribal warrior; conquering new land as we travel the world winning wars through romance. As we venture into a new level in our careers, we continue to embody the Zulu warrior spirit while elaborating on the romantic qualities in everyday life.

The greatest minds are the ones that connect wholeheartedly with their artistic visions and do all they can to make it reality. The Guru in us all simply craves evolution and tranquility which comes with experience, which is simply the process in which we become more and more true to ourselves: being able to acknowledge our flaws and mistakes and wrongdoings and grow for the better.

In this music there is honesty; pure understanding or putting forth the effort to understand the emotions that make us do what we do. We write to express and highlight things within ourselves and our culture that we feel hold some sort of significance, good or bad. We deeply connect with the many cultures of the world, traveling and over-involving ourselves with awareness. This music we bring to you is a sonic form of connection, a humbling form of passion, and the advancement of art in form of romance."

In 2007 Toddla T (aka Tom Bell) was working in a shoe shop in his
hometown of Sheffield. Then just 19 and living at home with his parents,
he DJ'd at weekends and was producing beats and tracks with his friend
Scott as Small Arms Fiya.

Now it's 2011 Toddla T is making the finishing touches to his second
album on the legendary Ninja Tune label, has a regular slot on BBC Radio
1, and has produced tracks for some of the UK urban scenes biggest stars
(hands up Tinchy, Jammer, Bashy, Roots Manuva and Ms Dynamite).

He DJ's around the globe, has a slew of remixes under his belt (Hot
Chip, Gyptian, Gorillaz, Major Lazer for starters), is a star of his own
Toddla TV channel online and has worked in studios from Kingston Jamaica
to Kingston upon Hull. Not to mention the recent launch of his Girls
Music Label which, after only three releases has already featured
productions by British dance music heroes Sticky and Roska.

So how do you get to be one of the leading lights of UK dance music in 4 short years?

Much can be attributed to Toddla’s phenomenal talent, drive and
ambition. He has good taste and keen eyes and ears in all elements of
British youth culture. However, the man himself modestly explains that
it has just as much to do with the sea change which has taken place in
British Pop music in the last few years.

When Toddla first started taking to the decks outside of his home town
he was worried that no one would "get it" and to start with, many
didn't. (Listen to the track "Roadtrip" from debut album Skanky Skanky
to hear an amusing account of just such a night). No one could quite
work out who Toddla was. Was he an MC? or the producer at the front of a
now forgotten, media created "UK Digi-Dancehall revolution"? Was that
skinny white kid the voice singing about Rice n Peas? Surely not.

Not allowing this confusion to get in his way T stuck to his guns. He
could smell a change in the air and knew that what he was doing was
worth sticking with. He made a mixtape, The Toddla T Ghettoblaster Vol.1
in 2008 and put it up for free online. It was downloaded by more than
10,000 people, was brilliantly received and announced Toddla as a talent
to be watched. People other than club promoters and other DJ's started
to hear about him and his club sets started to get more and more busy
with people who were there to see him. Longtime studio spar and MC
Serocee joined him on the road and the pair started to travel far and
wide around the UK spreading the good word.

His debut album Skanky Skanky was released in January 2009, this was
followed by a Fabric live mix album and a lot of requests for his
production skills with everyone from Major Lazer to Grandmaster Flash
getting in touch. Over a Guinness or two in his new London local (he
decamped from Sheffield to the capital in 2010) Toddla reflects on the
last couple of "pretty crazy years", the current UK scene and sets out
his stall for what promises to be a very busy and successful 2011.

"When I was first signed (to 1965 Records) every kid wanted to be in a
band. The Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines and all that were really
popular, me and my mates who were into Notorious B.I.G and dancehall
were really in the minority. Nowadays kids want to be Skream and Benga,
or Tinchy or N-Dubz and because of that all their points of musical
reference have changed"

It's true, there has been a huge shift in musical aesthetic, away from
the skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors of The Strokes and the seemingly
never-ending bandwagon that followed. What Toddla's saying here is borne
out of the recently released statistic that rock music has had its
worst year in the UK charts since 1960 with only 3 rock bands making it
into the top 100 songs of 2010.

As a backdrop to Dizzee, Tinie, Tinchy et al storming the charts, the
explosion of dubstep and subsequent re-evaluation of bass-driven, UK
club music has seen a major shift in what people aged 15 - 25 are raving
to. Where Soulwax and SMD and their like were ruling the clubs 2002 -
2006 nowadays seasoned campaigners like Shy FX and David Rodigan are
championed by kids who weren't born when they were first spinning
records.

Watch Me Dance is a bold step forward for Toddla T. Fans of Skanky
Skanky will find plenty that will please them but for the countless
thousands of clubbers who know Toddla T the DJ but haven't heard his
productions this second album may come as a surprise. Toddla explains...

"I've been busiest in the last two years as a DJ, so of course this
album has a big dose of the sounds and production techniques that I'm
out there representing in the clubs every weekend but if you're looking
for tops-off jungle or 4x4 bassline tearouts you won't find them here.
This is definitely still a record for clubbers, but it's the one they'll
listen to at home with their mates or every day on the way to work"

In Watch Me Dance Toddla has created a dubwise, street-soul
masterpiece. In a typically precocious reference to records that were
made when he was 4 and 10 years old respectively Toddla sums it up. "A
bit of the Soul from Soul II Soul Club Classics and a bit of the
Left-field from Leftism, I've been listening to those now and again,
they took in a whole load of club music and made an album that summed
something up and were great to listen to at the same time."

In 2007 Toddla T (aka Tom Bell) was working in a shoe shop in his
hometown of Sheffield. Then just 19 and living at home with his parents,
he DJ'd at weekends and was producing beats and tracks with his friend
Scott as Small Arms Fiya.

Now it's 2011 Toddla T is making the finishing touches to his second
album on the legendary Ninja Tune label, has a regular slot on BBC Radio
1, and has produced tracks for some of the UK urban scenes biggest stars
(hands up Tinchy, Jammer, Bashy, Roots Manuva and Ms Dynamite).

He DJ's around the globe, has a slew of remixes under his belt (Hot
Chip, Gyptian, Gorillaz, Major Lazer for starters), is a star of his own
Toddla TV channel online and has worked in studios from Kingston Jamaica
to Kingston upon Hull. Not to mention the recent launch of his Girls
Music Label which, after only three releases has already featured
productions by British dance music heroes Sticky and Roska.

So how do you get to be one of the leading lights of UK dance music in 4 short years?

Much can be attributed to Toddla’s phenomenal talent, drive and
ambition. He has good taste and keen eyes and ears in all elements of
British youth culture. However, the man himself modestly explains that
it has just as much to do with the sea change which has taken place in
British Pop music in the last few years.

When Toddla first started taking to the decks outside of his home town
he was worried that no one would "get it" and to start with, many
didn't. (Listen to the track "Roadtrip" from debut album Skanky Skanky
to hear an amusing account of just such a night). No one could quite
work out who Toddla was. Was he an MC? or the producer at the front of a
now forgotten, media created "UK Digi-Dancehall revolution"? Was that
skinny white kid the voice singing about Rice n Peas? Surely not.

Not allowing this confusion to get in his way T stuck to his guns. He
could smell a change in the air and knew that what he was doing was
worth sticking with. He made a mixtape, The Toddla T Ghettoblaster Vol.1
in 2008 and put it up for free online. It was downloaded by more than
10,000 people, was brilliantly received and announced Toddla as a talent
to be watched. People other than club promoters and other DJ's started
to hear about him and his club sets started to get more and more busy
with people who were there to see him. Longtime studio spar and MC
Serocee joined him on the road and the pair started to travel far and
wide around the UK spreading the good word.

His debut album Skanky Skanky was released in January 2009, this was
followed by a Fabric live mix album and a lot of requests for his
production skills with everyone from Major Lazer to Grandmaster Flash
getting in touch. Over a Guinness or two in his new London local (he
decamped from Sheffield to the capital in 2010) Toddla reflects on the
last couple of "pretty crazy years", the current UK scene and sets out
his stall for what promises to be a very busy and successful 2011.

"When I was first signed (to 1965 Records) every kid wanted to be in a
band. The Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines and all that were really
popular, me and my mates who were into Notorious B.I.G and dancehall
were really in the minority. Nowadays kids want to be Skream and Benga,
or Tinchy or N-Dubz and because of that all their points of musical
reference have changed"

It's true, there has been a huge shift in musical aesthetic, away from
the skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors of The Strokes and the seemingly
never-ending bandwagon that followed. What Toddla's saying here is borne
out of the recently released statistic that rock music has had its
worst year in the UK charts since 1960 with only 3 rock bands making it
into the top 100 songs of 2010.

As a backdrop to Dizzee, Tinie, Tinchy et al storming the charts, the
explosion of dubstep and subsequent re-evaluation of bass-driven, UK
club music has seen a major shift in what people aged 15 - 25 are raving
to. Where Soulwax and SMD and their like were ruling the clubs 2002 -
2006 nowadays seasoned campaigners like Shy FX and David Rodigan are
championed by kids who weren't born when they were first spinning
records.

Watch Me Dance is a bold step forward for Toddla T. Fans of Skanky
Skanky will find plenty that will please them but for the countless
thousands of clubbers who know Toddla T the DJ but haven't heard his
productions this second album may come as a surprise. Toddla explains...

"I've been busiest in the last two years as a DJ, so of course this
album has a big dose of the sounds and production techniques that I'm
out there representing in the clubs every weekend but if you're looking
for tops-off jungle or 4x4 bassline tearouts you won't find them here.
This is definitely still a record for clubbers, but it's the one they'll
listen to at home with their mates or every day on the way to work"

In Watch Me Dance Toddla has created a dubwise, street-soul
masterpiece. In a typically precocious reference to records that were
made when he was 4 and 10 years old respectively Toddla sums it up. "A
bit of the Soul from Soul II Soul Club Classics and a bit of the
Left-field from Leftism, I've been listening to those now and again,
they took in a whole load of club music and made an album that summed
something up and were great to listen to at the same time."

As a DJ, Andy Carthy aka Mr. Scruff plays across the board, flitting between soul, funk, hip hop, jazz, reggae, latin, african, ska, disco, house, funk, breaks, soundtracks and loads more. As a producer he makes music that draws on these influences, with a large dose of cheek and good humour. His cartoon drawings illustrate gig flyers, record sleeves and CD covers, and usually accompany him at gigs as live animated visuals.

Carthy’s first encounter with mixing was as a 12 year old in late 1984, when a friend played him some of his uncle's electro records, notably the Streetsounds LP Crucial Electro Volume 1, opening his eyes and ears to the art of mixing records. Soon after he was constructing his own crude pause-button mixtapes, inspired by the electro compilations and various radio shows on stations such as Piccadilly, Radio Lancashire & Southside that exposed him to electro and hip-hop, soul, reggae and early house music. Shouts to John Peel (of course), Greg Wilson, Robbie Vincent, Richard Searling, Stu Allan, Lee Browne, Ranking Miss P, Scotty, Tony the Greek, Steve Barker, Gary Hickson, Sam Brown & Waxmaster.

Little by little Andy was building a collection fuelled by this knowledge, all the while improving his DJ skills. By 1987 he was proficient at turntable mixing and editing, although he was still using primitive home hi-fi gear. His first break came in 1994, when he met Barney Doodlebug, a DJ/Doodler who gave him his first Manchester gig, on a Sunday night in a venue called Dry Bar. He also passed on a demo tape to local label Rob's Records, which resulted in them releasing the first Mr. Scruff 12" single.

A regular on the Manchester scene through ’94-’95, he released a string of 12”s on Rob's Records subsidiary Pleasure, as well as sides for Echo Drop, Grand Central & Cup of Tea. His work for Grand Central with Mark Rae inspired some four-deck club performances, including friendly “battles” with DJ Food, which introduced him to the Ninja Tune fold.

Gigging across the UK (with Electric Chair, Off Centre, Fat City and Tru Thoughts) and Europe (with Grand Central), Mr. Scruff signed to Ninja Tune in 1998. His debut album Keep It Unreal arrived a year later, featuring the certified classic "Get A Move On", kick-starting his Manchester club night of the same name, borne of a desire to play exactly what he wanted, rather than having to fit in with the music policies of other club nights.

In 2010 Big Chill Festival invited Mr. Scruff to host his own tent, testament to his inimitable raw dancefloor magnetism as are his regularly rammed-to-the-rafters Keep It Unreal sessions at Band On The Wall (Manchester) and KOKO (London).

After receiving a mighty nudge by the giant elbow of Ninja, the majority of 2013 was spent in the studio recording new album Friendly Bacteria, featuring Denis Jones, Matthew Halsall, Phil France, Vanessa Freeman & Robert Owens.

As a DJ, Andy Carthy aka Mr. Scruff plays across the board, flitting between soul, funk, hip hop, jazz, reggae, latin, african, ska, disco, house, funk, breaks, soundtracks and loads more. As a producer he makes music that draws on these influences, with a large dose of cheek and good humour. His cartoon drawings illustrate gig flyers, record sleeves and CD covers, and usually accompany him at gigs as live animated visuals.

Carthy’s first encounter with mixing was as a 12 year old in late 1984, when a friend played him some of his uncle's electro records, notably the Streetsounds LP Crucial Electro Volume 1, opening his eyes and ears to the art of mixing records. Soon after he was constructing his own crude pause-button mixtapes, inspired by the electro compilations and various radio shows on stations such as Piccadilly, Radio Lancashire & Southside that exposed him to electro and hip-hop, soul, reggae and early house music. Shouts to John Peel (of course), Greg Wilson, Robbie Vincent, Richard Searling, Stu Allan, Lee Browne, Ranking Miss P, Scotty, Tony the Greek, Steve Barker, Gary Hickson, Sam Brown & Waxmaster.

Little by little Andy was building a collection fuelled by this knowledge, all the while improving his DJ skills. By 1987 he was proficient at turntable mixing and editing, although he was still using primitive home hi-fi gear. His first break came in 1994, when he met Barney Doodlebug, a DJ/Doodler who gave him his first Manchester gig, on a Sunday night in a venue called Dry Bar. He also passed on a demo tape to local label Rob's Records, which resulted in them releasing the first Mr. Scruff 12" single.

A regular on the Manchester scene through ’94-’95, he released a string of 12”s on Rob's Records subsidiary Pleasure, as well as sides for Echo Drop, Grand Central & Cup of Tea. His work for Grand Central with Mark Rae inspired some four-deck club performances, including friendly “battles” with DJ Food, which introduced him to the Ninja Tune fold.

Gigging across the UK (with Electric Chair, Off Centre, Fat City and Tru Thoughts) and Europe (with Grand Central), Mr. Scruff signed to Ninja Tune in 1998. His debut album Keep It Unreal arrived a year later, featuring the certified classic "Get A Move On", kick-starting his Manchester club night of the same name, borne of a desire to play exactly what he wanted, rather than having to fit in with the music policies of other club nights.

In 2010 Big Chill Festival invited Mr. Scruff to host his own tent, testament to his inimitable raw dancefloor magnetism as are his regularly rammed-to-the-rafters Keep It Unreal sessions at Band On The Wall (Manchester) and KOKO (London).

After receiving a mighty nudge by the giant elbow of Ninja, the majority of 2013 was spent in the studio recording new album Friendly Bacteria, featuring Denis Jones, Matthew Halsall, Phil France, Vanessa Freeman & Robert Owens.

Bassist/songwriter/vocalist Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, has music deeply rooted within. His father, Ronald Bruner, Sr., is an internationally renowned jazz drummer who played with the Temptations, Diana Ross, Gary Bartz and Gladys Knight. His brother Ronald Bruner, Jr., a Grammy-winning drummer, has played with the likes of Roy Hargrove, Stanley Clarke, and Wayne Shorter. Stephen joined his brother as a member of West Coast punk vets Suicidal Tendencies, playing bass on their worldwide tours while still in high school. He also toured through Japan with Stanley Clarke at the age of 16.

As Thundercat, Bruner takes his jazz roots and works with a mix of artists that suit his wildly experimental sensibilities - ranging from Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, and Stanley Clarke, as well as more recent collaborations with Wiz Khalifa and Earl Sweatshirt, to name but a few. After meeting and touring with Flying Lotus, the two artists collaborated on Lotus’ 2010 LP Cosmogramma on the track "MmmHmm." Their kindred sense of musicality led to Thundercat’s 2011 solo debut The Golden Age of Apocalypse, co-produced by Flying Lotus, which opened Bruner up to a new stratosphere of songwriting and artistic exploration.

In 2013, Thundercat teamed up with executive producer Flying Lotus once again, to form a profound body of work for his second album, Apocalypse.’ Forthcoming on Lotus Brainfeeder imprint this July, the album straddles lines and pushes genres further, blurring the confines of pop, funk, electronica and prog rock, and creating something else entirely. Both vulnerable and fearless, a comedy and tragedy, Apocalypse is an intimate portrait of an artist who will continue to take music to a new place; the beyond.

Bassist/songwriter/vocalist Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, has music deeply rooted within. His father, Ronald Bruner, Sr., is an internationally renowned jazz drummer who played with the Temptations, Diana Ross, Gary Bartz and Gladys Knight. His brother Ronald Bruner, Jr., a Grammy-winning drummer, has played with the likes of Roy Hargrove, Stanley Clarke, and Wayne Shorter. Stephen joined his brother as a member of West Coast punk vets Suicidal Tendencies, playing bass on their worldwide tours while still in high school. He also toured through Japan with Stanley Clarke at the age of 16.

As Thundercat, Bruner takes his jazz roots and works with a mix of artists that suit his wildly experimental sensibilities - ranging from Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, and Stanley Clarke, as well as more recent collaborations with Wiz Khalifa and Earl Sweatshirt, to name but a few. After meeting and touring with Flying Lotus, the two artists collaborated on Lotus’ 2010 LP Cosmogramma on the track "MmmHmm." Their kindred sense of musicality led to Thundercat’s 2011 solo debut The Golden Age of Apocalypse, co-produced by Flying Lotus, which opened Bruner up to a new stratosphere of songwriting and artistic exploration.

In 2013, Thundercat teamed up with executive producer Flying Lotus once again, to form a profound body of work for his second album, Apocalypse.’ Forthcoming on Lotus Brainfeeder imprint this July, the album straddles lines and pushes genres further, blurring the confines of pop, funk, electronica and prog rock, and creating something else entirely. Both vulnerable and fearless, a comedy and tragedy, Apocalypse is an intimate portrait of an artist who will continue to take music to a new place; the beyond.

These are just some of the words that have been used to describe the work of Mtendere Mandowa, better known as Teebs.

A producer, a painter, and a key member of Brainfeeder clan, recent years have seen Teebs surge toward the top of the so-called "beat scene", and though his affiliation with Flying Lotus certainly has something to do with his ascent, it's ultimately the music - a billowing brand of beautifully off-kilter, hip-hop-colored beat construction - that has set Mandowa apart from what has become an increasingly crowded field of like-mind producers.

Teebs now makes his home in Northeast Los Angeles, but the 26-year-old producer wasn't always an Angeleno. Born in the Bronx, Mandowa's childhood also included time spent in Georgia and Hartford, Connecticut before his family switched coasts, stopping in Monterey Park, California before settling into the cozy LA suburb of Chino Hills. It was there that Teebs first truly took shape as an artist; he began painting in 2005 and started making music shortly thereafter, both by himself and as part of a collective known as My Hollow Drum.

It didn't take long for people to take notice. Around this time, Teebs linked up with online radio stronghold Dublab, and quickly saw his network increase exponentially. In 2008, he was invited to come to Barcelona and participate in that year's edition of the annual Red Bull Music Academy. This prompted fellow RBMA alum Flying Lotus to look him up; the two actually met at the now-legendary Low End Theory party in Los Angeles, and within six months, Teebs was living in the same apartment complex as FlyLo and sharing a spot with fellow LA beatmaker Samiyam. Watching those two work fueled his own creative impulses, and he began assembling what would eventually become Ardour, his first full-length album.

Ardour may have properly put Teebs on the electronic music map, but the somber release - the LP was partially inspired by the death of his father, which took place in the middle of the record's genesis - was just one of his many noteworthy efforts. He teamed up with fellow LA beatmakers Daedelus and Jeremiah Jae for split releases; he collaborated with UK producer Jackhigh (who now goes by BNJMN) on an intriguing EP called The Tropics and later joined forces with leftfield beat pioneer Prefuse 73 for the Sons of the Morning project and the Speak Soon, Volume One EP; Brainfeeder offered up the explorative and vaguely defined Collections mini-album; and the label arm of My Hollow Drum dropped limited runs of both Ardour B-Sides and the Cecilia Tapes Collection, the later of which collected music pieces that originally soundtracked one of Teebs' art exhibitions. He's also been busy on the road, frequently touring the globe, often in the company of his fellow Brainfeeder affiliates.

Despite all of this activity, on a personal level, the last couple of years have been a time of relative calm for Teebs. It was during this time that he put together E s t a r a, his second proper full-length. As opposed to the turmoil that accompanied the creation of Ardour, his new album is an effort inspired by his life as it stands now, and represents a time when Teebs has finally been able to make music completely on his own terms. The record takes its name from the house where much of the music was created, and it finds Teebs filling his sonic canvasses with the same kind of lush, textured sounds he's always used; the key difference is that he's now operating with a renewed sense of purpose and a streamlined musical narrative. The techniques haven't changed, but Teebs' mastery of them certainly has. In short, he's grown as an artist, and continues to confidently forge his own path forward.

These are just some of the words that have been used to describe the work of Mtendere Mandowa, better known as Teebs.

A producer, a painter, and a key member of Brainfeeder clan, recent years have seen Teebs surge toward the top of the so-called "beat scene", and though his affiliation with Flying Lotus certainly has something to do with his ascent, it's ultimately the music - a billowing brand of beautifully off-kilter, hip-hop-colored beat construction - that has set Mandowa apart from what has become an increasingly crowded field of like-mind producers.

Teebs now makes his home in Northeast Los Angeles, but the 26-year-old producer wasn't always an Angeleno. Born in the Bronx, Mandowa's childhood also included time spent in Georgia and Hartford, Connecticut before his family switched coasts, stopping in Monterey Park, California before settling into the cozy LA suburb of Chino Hills. It was there that Teebs first truly took shape as an artist; he began painting in 2005 and started making music shortly thereafter, both by himself and as part of a collective known as My Hollow Drum.

It didn't take long for people to take notice. Around this time, Teebs linked up with online radio stronghold Dublab, and quickly saw his network increase exponentially. In 2008, he was invited to come to Barcelona and participate in that year's edition of the annual Red Bull Music Academy. This prompted fellow RBMA alum Flying Lotus to look him up; the two actually met at the now-legendary Low End Theory party in Los Angeles, and within six months, Teebs was living in the same apartment complex as FlyLo and sharing a spot with fellow LA beatmaker Samiyam. Watching those two work fueled his own creative impulses, and he began assembling what would eventually become Ardour, his first full-length album.

Ardour may have properly put Teebs on the electronic music map, but the somber release - the LP was partially inspired by the death of his father, which took place in the middle of the record's genesis - was just one of his many noteworthy efforts. He teamed up with fellow LA beatmakers Daedelus and Jeremiah Jae for split releases; he collaborated with UK producer Jackhigh (who now goes by BNJMN) on an intriguing EP called The Tropics and later joined forces with leftfield beat pioneer Prefuse 73 for the Sons of the Morning project and the Speak Soon, Volume One EP; Brainfeeder offered up the explorative and vaguely defined Collections mini-album; and the label arm of My Hollow Drum dropped limited runs of both Ardour B-Sides and the Cecilia Tapes Collection, the later of which collected music pieces that originally soundtracked one of Teebs' art exhibitions. He's also been busy on the road, frequently touring the globe, often in the company of his fellow Brainfeeder affiliates.

Despite all of this activity, on a personal level, the last couple of years have been a time of relative calm for Teebs. It was during this time that he put together E s t a r a, his second proper full-length. As opposed to the turmoil that accompanied the creation of Ardour, his new album is an effort inspired by his life as it stands now, and represents a time when Teebs has finally been able to make music completely on his own terms. The record takes its name from the house where much of the music was created, and it finds Teebs filling his sonic canvasses with the same kind of lush, textured sounds he's always used; the key difference is that he's now operating with a renewed sense of purpose and a streamlined musical narrative. The techniques haven't changed, but Teebs' mastery of them certainly has. In short, he's grown as an artist, and continues to confidently forge his own path forward.

Three years after his last album – Ghost People – Martyn joins the Ninja Tune family to present his third long player. Universally respected for his ever-evolving, but inimitable sound, the Dutch-born, Washington DC-based producer brings an entirely new sonic direction with The Air Between Words. This is an exploration of the essence of all of Martyn’s music: a rugged four-to-the-floor groove, intelligently sculpted and artfully composed.

Where Great Lengths - his 2009 debut - was a body of work that explored Martyn’s uncategorizable versatility, and 2011’s Ghost People (via Brainfeeder) was a focused effort on writing an album with a specific sound, The Air Between Words came from a different realm altogether. Martyn had no parameters, and in fact no plan at all. He fell into a back-to-basics mentality where simple experimentation with purely analogue sounds and equipment inadvertently turned to melodic sketches, and without warning the album revealed itself.

“Every album signifies a period in your life, and finishing one shows you something about yourself,” says Martyn about the experience. “Without the music being introspective, this is my most natural sounding album.”

Martyn joins forces with Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet for "Glassbeadgames", a powerhouse of a track that finds the perfect amalgamation of both producers’ fortés. Heavy kicks, UKG-esque percussion and swirling subs dictate the groove, whilst the melodic progressions are simultaneously melancholic and anthemic, and further enhanced by a Hebden trademark thumb piano motif.

Another collaboration - "Love of Pleasure" - finds Martyn partnering with his good friend copeland (formerly known as Inga Copeland, or one half of art pop duo Hype Williams). Her fragile vocal cuts through distorted piano riffs and swathes of broken synths, a fitting centerpiece for the album before it returns to its essence via "Forgiveness Step 2", "Like That" and "Two Leads and a Computer", which distinctly draw from a 90s Warp heritage (Sweet Exorcist, LFO and Autechre) but bizarrely sound like they’ve been beamed from the future. After the Afro-tinged elegance of "Lullaby", the final piece word belongs to "Fashion Skater": a dark, earthy, almost Zen-like exercise in house music in its purest form.

Stylistically and sonically, Martyn stands apart from his counterparts. His music incorporates vintage references but is steadfastly forward-facing at the same time. He’s always done that. His sound is heritage and future - and that character has elevated him alongside fellow electronic heavyweights such as Four Tet, Kode9, dBridge and Mark Pritchard.

Three years after his last album – Ghost People – Martyn joins the Ninja Tune family to present his third long player. Universally respected for his ever-evolving, but inimitable sound, the Dutch-born, Washington DC-based producer brings an entirely new sonic direction with The Air Between Words. This is an exploration of the essence of all of Martyn’s music: a rugged four-to-the-floor groove, intelligently sculpted and artfully composed.

Where Great Lengths - his 2009 debut - was a body of work that explored Martyn’s uncategorizable versatility, and 2011’s Ghost People (via Brainfeeder) was a focused effort on writing an album with a specific sound, The Air Between Words came from a different realm altogether. Martyn had no parameters, and in fact no plan at all. He fell into a back-to-basics mentality where simple experimentation with purely analogue sounds and equipment inadvertently turned to melodic sketches, and without warning the album revealed itself.

“Every album signifies a period in your life, and finishing one shows you something about yourself,” says Martyn about the experience. “Without the music being introspective, this is my most natural sounding album.”

Martyn joins forces with Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet for "Glassbeadgames", a powerhouse of a track that finds the perfect amalgamation of both producers’ fortés. Heavy kicks, UKG-esque percussion and swirling subs dictate the groove, whilst the melodic progressions are simultaneously melancholic and anthemic, and further enhanced by a Hebden trademark thumb piano motif.

Another collaboration - "Love of Pleasure" - finds Martyn partnering with his good friend copeland (formerly known as Inga Copeland, or one half of art pop duo Hype Williams). Her fragile vocal cuts through distorted piano riffs and swathes of broken synths, a fitting centerpiece for the album before it returns to its essence via "Forgiveness Step 2", "Like That" and "Two Leads and a Computer", which distinctly draw from a 90s Warp heritage (Sweet Exorcist, LFO and Autechre) but bizarrely sound like they’ve been beamed from the future. After the Afro-tinged elegance of "Lullaby", the final piece word belongs to "Fashion Skater": a dark, earthy, almost Zen-like exercise in house music in its purest form.

Stylistically and sonically, Martyn stands apart from his counterparts. His music incorporates vintage references but is steadfastly forward-facing at the same time. He’s always done that. His sound is heritage and future - and that character has elevated him alongside fellow electronic heavyweights such as Four Tet, Kode9, dBridge and Mark Pritchard.

An experimental and self-taught singer and songwriter originally hailing from South East London, Andreya Triana grew up submerged in a multicultural atmosphere. A unique vocalist, Andreya began singing at the tender age of 7, taking influence from the sights and sounds of inner-city London. Her early love and passion for music would see her locked in her bedroom for hours on end writing poetry, making homemade mix tapes and recording tracks - utilizing two battered cassette decks to record harmonies.

Her early love of improvisation would warp and change over the years, hugely influencing her 'Freeflo Sessions' - a hypnotic one woman show using a sampler to loop vocals, percussive sounds and beats live. To date she has taken her Freeflo Sessions worldwide, dazzling audiences far and wide with her cutting edge and soulful performances. 2006 saw her selected from thousands to take part in the Red Bull Music Academy in Australia, where she further developed her style for improvisation and secured links with some of the best producers and musicians on the music scene. Multiple collaborations ensued daily at the Academy, including 'Tea Leaf Dancers' a collaboration with now-legendary electronic muscian and producer Flying Lotus (released on Warp Records). The track was hailed as a classic, getting rave reviews from Benji B and Gilles Peterson while getting airplay on Annie Mac's Radio One show. It was this song that also caught the attention of Ninja Tune stalwart Bonobo.

In 2009 Triana’s career took another upturn when she toured the U.S and Canada with the Bonobo live band, played the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury, and secured a three album deal with Ninja Tune. Her debut album, ‘Lost Where I Belong,’ was released in 2010 to rapturous praise. Produced by Bonobo and imbued with his cinematic, future-beat magic, it also featured two co-writes with fellow Ninja artist Fink.

Since then, Andreya’s been working intensively on both sides of the Atlantic, writing her sophomore album, which is due for release in 2013. She’s planning some intimate gigs during the remainder of 2012, ahead of a 4-track EP which will be released as a taster for the album.

Andreya Triana has truly come into her own as a songwriter and performer, travelling across the world to play everywhere from Poland and the Isle of Wight through the U.S. to Switzerland, where she supported Erykah Badu. Her U.S writing partners include Marc Nelkin, Carl Ryden, Rex Rideout, Juanita Stokes and Blac Elvis, and in the UK she’s been holed up with Rick Nowles, Jimmy Hogarth, Alan Nglish and Dee Adam. Such an illustrious list of collaborators is testament to her own abilities as a writer.

Rapidly approaching the peak of her powers, great things can be expected from Andreya Triana in the months and years to come.

An experimental and self-taught singer and songwriter originally hailing from South East London, Andreya Triana grew up submerged in a multicultural atmosphere. A unique vocalist, Andreya began singing at the tender age of 7, taking influence from the sights and sounds of inner-city London. Her early love and passion for music would see her locked in her bedroom for hours on end writing poetry, making homemade mix tapes and recording tracks - utilizing two battered cassette decks to record harmonies.

Her early love of improvisation would warp and change over the years, hugely influencing her 'Freeflo Sessions' - a hypnotic one woman show using a sampler to loop vocals, percussive sounds and beats live. To date she has taken her Freeflo Sessions worldwide, dazzling audiences far and wide with her cutting edge and soulful performances. 2006 saw her selected from thousands to take part in the Red Bull Music Academy in Australia, where she further developed her style for improvisation and secured links with some of the best producers and musicians on the music scene. Multiple collaborations ensued daily at the Academy, including 'Tea Leaf Dancers' a collaboration with now-legendary electronic muscian and producer Flying Lotus (released on Warp Records). The track was hailed as a classic, getting rave reviews from Benji B and Gilles Peterson while getting airplay on Annie Mac's Radio One show. It was this song that also caught the attention of Ninja Tune stalwart Bonobo.

In 2009 Triana’s career took another upturn when she toured the U.S and Canada with the Bonobo live band, played the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury, and secured a three album deal with Ninja Tune. Her debut album, ‘Lost Where I Belong,’ was released in 2010 to rapturous praise. Produced by Bonobo and imbued with his cinematic, future-beat magic, it also featured two co-writes with fellow Ninja artist Fink.

Since then, Andreya’s been working intensively on both sides of the Atlantic, writing her sophomore album, which is due for release in 2013. She’s planning some intimate gigs during the remainder of 2012, ahead of a 4-track EP which will be released as a taster for the album.

Andreya Triana has truly come into her own as a songwriter and performer, travelling across the world to play everywhere from Poland and the Isle of Wight through the U.S. to Switzerland, where she supported Erykah Badu. Her U.S writing partners include Marc Nelkin, Carl Ryden, Rex Rideout, Juanita Stokes and Blac Elvis, and in the UK she’s been holed up with Rick Nowles, Jimmy Hogarth, Alan Nglish and Dee Adam. Such an illustrious list of collaborators is testament to her own abilities as a writer.

Rapidly approaching the peak of her powers, great things can be expected from Andreya Triana in the months and years to come.

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[counter_biog] => An experimental and self taught singer and songwriter originally hailing from South East London, Andreya Triana grew up submerged in a multicultural atmosphere. A unique vocalist, Andreya began singing at the tender age of 7, taking influence from the sights and sounds of inner city London. Her early love and passion for music would see her locked in her bedroom for hours on end writing poetry, making homemade mix tapes and recording tracks - utilising two battered cassette decks to record harmonies. Her early love of improvisation would warp and change over the years, hugely influencing her 'Freeflo Sessions' - a hypnotic one woman show using a sampler to loop vocals, percussive sounds and beats live. To date she has taken her Freeflo Sessions worldwide, dazzling audiences far and wide with her cutting edge and soulful performances.
2006 saw her selected from thousands to take part in the Red Bull Music Academy in Australia where she further developed her style for improvisation and secured links with some of the best producers and musicians on the music scene.
Multiple collaborations ensued daily at the Academy, with 'Tea Leaf Dancers', a collaboration with glitchy hip hop producer Flying Lotus (released on Warp Records), was a product of this and has been her most successful musical venture to date. Hailed as a classic while getting rave reviews from Benji B and Gilles Peterson while getting airplay on Annie Mac's Radio One show, it was this track that also caught the attention of Ninja Tune stalwart Bonobo.
2009 has been an eventful year for Miss Triana, touring America and Canada with the Bonobo live band, playing on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury showcasing new material and signing a three album deal with Ninja Tune Records.
2010 saw the release of her album 'Lost Where I Belong', produced by Bonobo, with fellow Ninja Tune singer and songwriter Fink also stepping up to co-write two tracks for the album. 'Lost Where I Belong' is a beautifully honest album combining Soul, Folk, Jazz and Bonobo's cinematic magic in a highly anticipated and hotly tipped debut... watch out for Andreya Triana!
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